The power of choice… We face many choices daily but for me, the most important and constant choice I face is to either seek God’s will or follow my own self-will. Maybe some folks think like I used to think when I was first saved that I no longer had to battle with life’s twists, turns, trials, and temptations, because I had Jesus in my heart. However, the fact is that God loves us so much that even though through Baptism He fills our heart with His Holy Spirit, He loves us so much and so unconditionally that He allows us to keep our free will. Now perhaps it’s different for you, but this is exactly why I must make the choice daily and even hourly at times to seek His will and not give into my selfish self-centered will. How do you handle this choice?... Check your experience… “Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.” Big Book pg 86 Lord, thank You for loving us so complete and unconditionally that you let us keep our free will. Let us exercise this power of choice and choose to seek Your will in all things, AMEN. “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! http://ServantsHearts.us it’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are please to share the newest free service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! It’s Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://ServantsHearts.us

We are not alone… There are all sorts of hi tech headsets, ear phones, and other apparatus that makes it very easy to isolate these days. Heck, with headphones being so popular, it’s almost even cool to keep them on whenever possible. This comfortable isolation is good for brief periods to allow for pause, meditation, rest, and or prayer, but when it happens often and for long periods of time, then it can be very dangerous. This type of isolation not only separates you from others but also closes your heart to the Holy Spirit. Think about it, in times of stress or strain, do you find yourself desiring to be alone with your own thoughts? Again, for a brief moment, its fine, but when it becomes a constant preferred mechanism of escape then problems left inside our own head become issues that lead to all sorts of behaviors, actions, and ultimately consequences we do not need. Sharing your life’s trials, twists, turns, and temptations with other believers will not only keep you from falling victim to the delusions of the isolated mind, but will also allow the Holy Spirit to show you the solution. Are you isolating?.. Check your experience… “No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity.” Big Book pg 8 Lord, let us know that You put others in our lives to for us to lean on in rough times, AMEN. “That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love.” Colossians 2:2 Have a blessed day y’all! Saturday, November 10th from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM we are going to BREAK THE BANK…The Furniture Bank that is! I AM 360 https://www.iam360.love/ will be at the Furniture Bank’s storage unit collecting GENTLY USED items such as bedding linens, furniture, furnishings, kitchen, and other household items, (please note that due to health code standards and insurance liability issues, WE CANNOT ACCEPT used mattresses, appliances, or any items that have excessive wear and tear). Please bring what you can and let’s BREAK THE BANK by filling up their storage unit. The Furniture Bank is located at Pecos Storage – 3087 E. Pecos Road, Phoenix, AZ 85048. www.furniturebank.us

What is total cost?.. Anyone who knows me understands my preference to avoid numbers in just about every situation that I can. What I have learned in life and in school is that everything has a cost. Not only a numerical valued cost, but also the cost of time, effort, relationships, and growth. It’s pretty easy to count the numerical cost in most things. My wallet and my bank account are a constant reminder that I am not made of money. Now maybe it’s different for you, but it’s those other costs that are the most expensive to me. I have learned to ask myself what is the cost; to the relationship, time, as well as what value is to be gained. Needless to say, whenever Miss Tami or our daughter needs me, that automatically wins, but what about the time I spend on other matters that may or may not be healthy for me or my relationships with my family, friends, and Jesus?... Check your experience… “Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid.” Big Book pg 14 Lord, let us include our loves, our priorities and our relationship with You when we count the cost of our efforts, AMEN. “But don’t begin until you count the cost.” Luke 14:28 Have a blessed day y’all! Grab a daily shot of positive and inspiration! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_1405964225?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&keywords=pastor%20mark%20farley&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3

Becoming teachable. ... Remember the last time you were able to lay aside your preconceived notions, expectations, and self-made opinions in order to truly learn something new? Yeah, it's been a while for me too! Part of having free will and becoming an adult is this magic magnifying mind that we have that likes to unconsciously grow and feed from our perceptions and experiences. It tries to predict situations for us as well as attempts to harden our hearts through our own self-made assessments and judgements. Until we stop this process and set aside the ability and power it has over us, we cease to truly grow spiritually. Kids don't have this. They look to us with wide eyes and open minds thirsty to learn. It's only when we can open our minds willingly in this manner can God truly teach us and fill our hearts with His Spirit and wisdom. Are you still willing and able to be teachable? ...Check your experience. ... "But after a while we had to face the fact that we must find a spiritual basis of life-or else." Big Book pg 44 Lord let us set aside our own thoughts and become teachable like a child for Your Word, AMEN. "He said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! http://ServantsHearts.us it’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are please to share the newest free service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! It’s Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://ServantsHearts.us

Fixing those broken connections… Have you ever noticed the amount of stuff available that helps us to fix things? From the self-help meccas of Home Depot and Lowes to the auto parts stores, hardware stores, deep discount big box stores, and even grocery stores, there are kits, tools, parts, and supplies that allow us to fix just about everything. There are even YouTube videos available for non-mechanical folks like me that will show us how it’s done! What about the spiritual and relational connections in our lives that need repair? Sure, there are self-help books, counseling, and therapists to help, but just like all the stuff in our homes we can fix, it requires willingness, effort, and honest hard work on our part. The good news is that when Jesus sees our efforts and willingness, HE uses the Holy Spirit living within each of us to guide us on the repair of the relationship with Him as well as others in our lives… Check your experience… “The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous.” Big Book pg 25 Lord let us open our hearts to let the Holy Spirit guide us in repairing and maintaining all of our relationships according to Your will and not ours, AMEN. “Jesus replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22: 37-38 Have a blessed day y’all! Grab a daily shot of positive and inspiration! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_1405964225?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&keywords=pastor%20mark%20farley&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3

What is your power source? … Red Bull, coffee, Protein shakes, Power Bars, and all sorts of other products promise us energy. Many other products promise to enhance our power. Body builders and folks into fitness and exercise routines gain physical strength and stamina, but, ….where do we really get our POWER from? We see stories from time to time about folks doing super human feats to save another or help someone in danger. I bet if you take a look at the events you’re your lifetime there have been a few times where you have had to “dig deep” to find that extra needed effort to complete a task or endure an unpleasant situation. Where did that power come from? Honestly, I know I am lying to myself if I try to claim it came only from me. I know for fact that through my faith in God and my walk with Jesus that God equips me with the power I need for every situation. How about you? … Where does your power come from? …Check your experience. … “We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves.” Big Book pg 45 Lord thank you for giving us the strength we need to not only accomplish the task or endure the situation, but also to allow You to work through us to help others, AMEN. “I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.” Philippians 4:13 Have a blessed day y’all! Grab a daily shot of positive and inspiration! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_1405964225?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&keywords=pastor%20mark%20farley&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3

How’s your eye sight?... Why is it so much easier to see the problems that other people have when compared to our own? Now maybe it’s different for you, but my cross wired head can point out the faults in others while overlooking the issues in my life that need attention. The funny thing is, no one ever asks me what’s wrong with them, yet my head likes to show me what it sees that is wrong with others. Thank goodness I am used to this twisted thinking and for the most part manage to keep my opinions to myself and my mouth shut. I have learned the hard way that when something in another person bothers me, be it their actions, appearance, behaviors, or words, it’s a strong signal that there is something in me and my life that I need to look at and address… Check your experience…. “Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.” Big Book pg 84 Lord, let us look in the mirror to see what we can change in us instead of looking to change others, AMEN. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! http://ServantsHearts.us it’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are please to share the newest free service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! It’s Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help!http://ServantsHearts.us